Trying to use hydrotherm

[hambone]

I have been trying to get better with a hydrotherm. In the photo, which shows the red line above the syrup and the line scale as well, my guess would be the syrup is too dense, is this so? I believe you want the line scale level with the syrup and the the red line 3 or 4 lines above that for 66 brix. I think if the syrup was not dense enough the hydrotherm would sink into the syrup.16377

[upsmapleman]

Yes it is a little heavy. You want to see the red sticking up over top of the syrup by a couple of lines. If it is to thin it will sink farther in and you will not see the red line. Remember to let it sit a couple of minutes to adjust. It doesn'tmake any differece what the tempture of your syrup is but it does take a couple of minutes when you put it in to adjust.

[hambone]

Thanks that's what I thought.

[Run Forest Run!]

Forum member Big_Eddy has provided this excellent tutorial for those of us using hydrotherms. This is his post, in his words;

"I've had a hydrotherm for a few years now, but never had any instructions as to how to read it and use it properly. Was in the local Co-op the other day, and there was an instruction sheet printed out that was published be Atkinson's Maple Syrup Supplies. There is no copyright notice on it, so I thought I would post the content here.

Description

•The Hydrotherm is a combination of the hydrometer and the thermometer. It measures the density of maple syrup at any temperature between 35F and 210F.

•The scale of the hydrotherm is graduated in 2/10 degrees brix and will indicate the density of the syrup 65.8 degrees brix and thicker.

•The cup for this hydrotherm should be at least 10", preferably 12"

Measuring Method.

•For quicker reading in hot syrup - keep the hydrotherm in hot water. Before use, dry well.

•Fill the cup with syrup and lower the hydrotherm slowly into the cup. Avoid knocking the bottom and sides of the cup. Allow both the hydrometer and the thermometer column to stop moving before reading.

•When the top of the red thermometer column is level with the surface of the syrup, the syrup density is 65.8 degrees brix.

•To comply with Ontario and Canada regulations for minimum density maple syrup (66 degrees brix) the top of the red thermometer column should be 1 graduation above the surface of the syrup.

•When the top of the red thermometer column is 3 1/2 or 4 graduations above the surface of the syrup, the syrup should be near the optimum density of 66.5 degrees brix.

•If the top of the red thermometer is not visible at or above the surface of the syrup, the syrup is too thin.


Hope this helps others - it helped me a lot. I was finishing yesterday and the hydrotherm and my thermometer both agreed at the 66 degrees brix level. To get to the optimum 66.5 brix I had to boil to ~ 8 degrees above water boiling temp."

[wmick]

Just going to jump in and HiJack with another HydroTherm question... I bought my first one this year...
When I did my first check on hot syrup (sap actually) .... I pulled out of the hot liquid and gently set it down... Within a short time, I heard a cracking sound...
At first I thought it was the glass breaking, but under further inspection, it seemed as though the dark epoxy-like substance inside the bottom bulb, was "separating" from the glass...
Does this sound normal??

[Big_Eddy]

To add to what Karen posted.
I use my hydrotherm both for testing when to draw, and for final finishing.
When checking the evaporator, I don't bother to wait for the thermometer to catch up. I know that with hot syrup straight from the pan, my hydrotherm floats with 5 lines showing. Basically I'm using it like a hydrometer with the hot test line = to 5 lines on the scale.

For final density adjustment, I float the hydrometer in my pot and allow the thermometer to stabilize, then add sap until I have exactly 5 lines of red showing (65.8 +5x0.2 = 66.8 Brix) . I then bring to a quick boil prior to filtering.

I have noticed that there is a slight difference in my Hydrotherm readings between room temperature and hot syrup. i.e. the same syrup will not read exactly the same Brix at different temperatures (+/- 0.4Brix or so). To be consistent I make my final density adjustments at ~200F just before it reaches boiling for filtering.

wmick - doesn't sound normal. Unfortunately